Romance Novels
by CuteLittleGargoyle
Summary: Sam has nothing better to do. Set in the time between major disasters. No spoilers. Not related to any of my other work. It's a short story, and I had lots of fun writing it. Enjoy!


Contrary to popular belief, hunters still have to do chores. That's how Sam Winchester ends up at a laundromat, sneakily stuffing blood-stained clothing into the washing machine. Having nothing more urgent to do, he sinks into the cheap, rickety plastic chair in the corner and tries to ignore the various bumps and bruises acquired during the recent hunt. He checks his phone. For once, the voice mail is empty and there are no new text messages. He even checks his email, and finds nothing but spam. "Nothing to do but sit here and wait," he says to himself.

It's not so bad to have a little time without worrying about things, and Sam has just realized that he really doesn't want to get up and move around. Days of being on high alert tend to make him feel like crap afterward. Slouching back in his chair, Sam looks around the room boredly. Washing machines and driers line the walls, cheap plastic tables occupy the center of the floor, and a large window looks out onto the street, where it's dark and rainy. There's a bulletin board on the far wall, full of outdated fliers. It doesn't occupy Sam's attention for more than three minutes.

He's about to get up and pace or something, when his foot collides with an object under his chair. Curiously, he picks it up. It's a book. A beat-up, dog-eared paperback novel, in fact. The shiny gold title reads _My Lover's Sunshine_. Below the title is an illustration of a young couple holding hands and leaning on what appears to be the wall of a medieval castle. The focus is on the woman, while the man is only shown in blurry profile. The woman, bathed in the titular sunshine, has long blond hair and a smile that manages to be attractive. Glancing around guiltily, Sam flips the novel over to read the blurb. There's no one else in the laundromat, he's bored, and doesn't want to get up. It's totally okay to read the book.

_When Lindsey wins an all-expenses-paid, luxurious European vacation, she expects to spend her time lounging and sightseeing. She never expects to meet the man of her dreams… Richard Vanburen is successful, accomplished, and bored out of his mind. When he flies to Paris to meet up with an old business partner, he is pleased to be introduced to gorgeous American Lindsey Maybank. Impressed with her fluent French, he offers to show her the countryside he loves with all his heart. Along the way, he discovers her passions and her dreams, and Lindsey fits herself into his. However, as their desire for one another becomes something more, Lindsey must decide if she can leave her homeland behind for a man whose love may be worth it all…_

Sam looks up sharply, relieved to see that no one has walked into the laundromat. He feels a little bit silly. He can already see how predictable the book would be, but his mind is filled with images of the French countryside in summer, and it's somehow therapeutic. Well, it's not like he has anything better to do. He opens the novel to page one.

By the time he has to switch the laundry into the drier, Sam has gotten attached to Lindsey Maybank. She's smart, funny and adventurous. Why the hell is Richard taking so long to realize that he loves her? When they finally succumb to their passions, Sam is grinning to himself like it's a personal victory.

When the drier finishes with his laundry, Sam pretends not to notice and finishes the chapter he's reading.

"Ahem," says a woman's voice above him. Sam startles and looks up. He pretends he isn't reading a romance novel.

"That's my book," the woman says conversationally. Sam blushes. "Okay," he says, and offers it to her. He makes a mental note of the page number so he can finish it when he finds another copy. The woman laughs. "You can keep it," she says. "Looks like you're almost done anyway. I wouldn't want to deprive anyone of reading the ending." Sam wonders if his face can get any redder. "Thanks," he says awkwardly. The woman shrugs at him and picks up her laundry. "Just be careful," she says as she heads out the door. "You can get addicted to those."

END

So, was it any good?


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